Diane Ackerman in her book An Alchemy of Mind, The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain writes, “The brain is not the mind, the mind inhabits the brain (page 4).”[1]

Shibayama writes, “The Mind here does not refer to thought or emotion, nor does it refer to human psychology which is an object of scientific research. It is not the consciousness, nor the psyche which is dealt with by psychiatrists, either. When we go beyond all these, wash them off, and transcend their limitations, for the first time we can reach the Mind which is also called the Buddha Mind, the Absolute Mind, the Spirituality, or the truth (page 26).”[2]

And so, when we mediate we give ourselves the opportunity to transcend our human thoughts that we created through study, reading, our culture, and experiences and move into touching the greater Mind.

He shares a story about Zen Master Sekito who was training a monk and while walking through the forest they came across a dense thicket that they could not walk through. The student asked Sekito for the knife. “Sekito unsheathed his big mountain knife, and without a word thrust out the knife with the sharp edge toward him. The companion was frightened, and withdrew his hand crying, “Stop the nonsense! Let me have the hilt.” Sekito’s reply was sharper than the edge of the knife. He said, “What is the use of the hilt? The monk could not utter a word in reply (page 26-27).”[3]

Shibayama finishes by writing, “We are apt to stick to the hilt which is of secondary importance, and miss the Truth altogether. Sekito is urging us to get hold of the fundamental Truth direct. Here we see the truth of direct pointing (page 27).” It is the blade that does the work that cuts through our wrong thinking and fears and anxieties. Remember the axiom, “The truth will set you free.” Where is your freedom? Hidden in a job, an education, a scripture, a political party, or religion?

Then there is the power of meditation. Each day as you take the opportunity to sit and calm the “monkey mind” you’ll find that soon you’ll be able to transcend the brain/mind and tap in to the greater mind, the Buddha Mind, the Absolute Mind. And when you do you’ll discover who you really are and you will experience the power and peace that has always been within reach when you make that direct connection.

Which mind are you pointing to?

[1] Ackerman, D. (2004) An Alchemy of Mind The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain. Scribner: NY

First, we’ll write about number one: Transmission outside scriptures. In our previous chapter we talked about the satori experience. Notice that he uses the word “experience” here not knowledge, not understanding, not wisdom, but the palpable “experience” of the teachings of Zen. If you’ve never had an actual “satori” experience in this life or if you may have had one or more than one in this life time that’s nice.

What is important as a student of Buddhism is to begin to bring the Zen principles or your “satori” experience into your daily life. We do this by taking the opportunity to “be” peace, love, and compassion without thinking—simply be it!

He writes:

It is therefore the satori experience that can give life to these scriptures. It is impossible to attain satori by reading the sutras on the scholastic level. Once an experience is expressed in a conceptual form, it assumes its own objectivity which can be independently treated. Thus there is the danger of misunderstanding the concept as the experiential fact itself, and the experience itself will be forgotten and finally be dead. Zen is flatly against such a tendency and strongly warns us that we should not be attached to any of the scriptures which are likely to be lifeless records (page 21).[2]

Thus, we are put into a conundrum how do we live our principles if he’s telling us there is the “danger of misunderstanding the concept” and confusing it with the experience itself. As we look back on this idea we see the Buddha simply holding up a lotus flower and his disciple Mahakasyapa was immediately enlightened.

Our friends from Buddha Groove write beautifully about this:

Historical records show that the flower the Buddha held up at the sermon was a lotus flower, which is associated with Buddhism to this day. The lotus is known for its great beauty, but it is also unique in that it requires thick mud and muck in which to extend its roots so that it can grow and eventually yield flowers. It is because of this thick mud and muck—not in spite of it—that the beautiful lotus blooms.[3]

Thus, it is our experiences in life living the principles of Buddhism in peace, love, and compassion toward all—not just humans—but to all living things on earth including the earth itself that Buddhism is all about! Live it, love it, be it…